The Criminal and the Babysitter
by ScribblesTheVixen
Summary: When a young woman from America is found a criminal in by the British Ministry of Magic, Matthew Merrit is given the task of watching over her. But what he didn't realize was that he'd learn the fine difference between a crime and a desire.


**A/N: This is written for Round Two of The International Wizarding Schools Championship, but can be read by anyone and everyone.**

**Disclamer: Also, for this story, I have created to OC's who are mine. The setting, jobs, and whatever else I've got in here all belong to J.K. Rowling. **

**I had a lot of fun writing this story and I hope that whoever's reading it enjoys this crazy plot I've come up with. **

**School and Year: **Mahoutokoro- Year 4

**Theme: **Department for International Magical Cooperation (I used this theme very literally.)

**Main Prompt: **[Genre] Crime

**Additional Prompts: **

[Quote] "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats inferiors, not his equals." (I incorporated this quote as a dialogue from a book.

[Occupation] Auror

**Word Count: **2,256

* * *

For the past five weeks, he'd been on a wild goose chase all around Britain, trying to pick up a trail that was supposed to lead him to an illegal, underground wizarding practice. It had come from a tip they'd received from an anonymous party, but it had clearly turned out to be a fake.

But a week after he'd returned, another Auror, given a different tip-off, returned with the culprit who had just happened to be the head of the whole operation.

To say he'd been flabbergasted would have been an understatement.

The culprit had been whisked off to the Department for International Magical Cooperation to be dealt with as it had come to light that they were from the Americas and had been running crime sprees all around Britain without ever getting caught.

To say everyone at the Ministry had been shocked would have also been an understatement.

But, after hours of meetings with the American representatives about what course of action should be decided for the culprit, an agreement had finally been reached and everyone had been beyond relieved.

Except for him, that is.

See, Matthew Merrit had always had a track record for delivering good on his promises. And, when he was a kid, his grades had always been exceptional and there had been no spell he couldn't master. When he'd applied for the position of Auror, he'd quickly made his way through the ranks and climbed his way to the Head of the British Auror Office just at the age of nineteen.

So, what made him qualified for the task of babysitting? He honestly had no idea.

Maybe, it had to do with the fact that he had always beat any wizard that he'd been assigned to catch, making it almost impossible for anyone to flee while he was there. But, maybe that was just his pride talking.

Anyways, the Department, in their haste to quickly resolve the issue, had decided that since the crimes that the culprit had committed weren't of any serious consequence, a punishment had not needed to be given right away. Yet, they could not simply just let the criminal wander back onto the streets, and sending them to Azkaban would be disastrous for their image if word got out.

Because, who in their right mind would send someone who had done nothing more than teach other wizards and witches a few tricks that would be no match against the Ministry or any other trained wizard out there?

Not them.

And, so, the task had fallen to him. But it hadn't been anything like he'd expected.

So, as Matthew sat at his desk, hunched over some reports that needed to be filed, he was startled when his door was kicked open by a young woman in handcuffs with two other Aurors standing behind her just in case she tried something.

His eyes widened at the sight, watching them all in confusion as they strode into the room and stood around his desk. He already knew the two Aurors, but the woman was definitely someone new.

Her figure was slim with snow colored skin that was dotted with light freckles that almost reminded him of snowflakes. She had silky, black hair that reached her shoulders and was tied back into a small half-ponytail. Hanging from her ears were large, golden, hoop earrings that touched her neckline, and a small, black beanie sat firmly on her head. She was dressed in a black, wool coat that was buttoned up and tied, hiding anything she had underneath from view. Her tights were a dark grey and disappeared under the leather boots she wore.

But the one thing that truly caught his eyes was her face.

Freckles were splashed across her nose, leaving every other part of her face clear. Her lips were a soft pink and drawn into a thin line with the corners itching to curve upwards. Yet, her eyes were what truly drew him in. They were a soft mocha color, with swirls of caramel in them. They held so much excitement in them, like she was itching at a chance to do absolutely anything and everything.

It was so mesmerizing.

"Sir."

Matthew's head snapped to the side. He'd completely forgotten about the other two.

He cleared his throat, trying to ignore the way her face broke out into a large grin as he turned away. Facing the one who had called him, he spoke, cursing at himself for stuttering. "Y-Yes?"

"We're here to drop off your next assignment."

He raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"Your next assignment." the Auror repeated. "Assigned directly from the Department for Inter-"

"Yes, yes." Matthew waved him off. "I know what it is. I just don't understand. What are you dropping off? There's no one else here with you."

"Um," the other man spoke, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "She's actually right in front of you, sir."

He recoiled in confusion. "What in Merlin's beard are you talking about?"

"The woman, sir. She would be your next assignment."

His gaze snapped back towards her, watching as her smile continued to widen despite the smallness of her face.

Yet, it didn't quite reach her eyes.

He felt his throat go dry. Were they really serious?

"Well," the Auror spoke up, becoming uncomfortable at the sudden silence in the room. "I suppose we'll be going now. We'll be back later to check on things and make our report to the department."

With that, both men hastily rushed out of the room, letting the door click shut behind them, and leaving Matt alone with the woman who had been deemed a criminal but was definitely no older than he was.

The silence only seemed to grow in their absence, though. And, soon enough, she finally got fed up with it, rolling her eyes but still keeping her smile.

"Don't be so shocked. I assure you that women can be just as criminal as men can." Her tone was light and airy, but her words held much more meaning than she let on.

She sighed when he didn't reply. Her eyes drifted around the room and he watched as she took in everything around them. Her gaze finally settled on a wall of books on the left side, all neatly kept in order and alphabetized.

Eagerly, she skipped over there, her eyes lighting up like a child on Christmas Day, as she brought her fingers up and let them graze over each title.

"Just how many books do you own?" she questioned curiously.

He seemed to snap out of his daze at the sudden question, his pride taking over as she looked at his prized collection.

"Over seventy."

She simply nodded, continuing to read each title.

After another moment, he spoke again, albeit hesitantly. "What's… What's your name, miss?"

"My name?" she asked, suddenly standing up straight and spinning around on her heels. "Why would you want to know that?"

"Well, I wasn't told it by anyone. In fact, all I knew was that I'd be placed over watching someone."

"Hm." She seemed to think it over for a moment, placing a finger on her chin, before reaching a decision. "Alright." she said, clasping her hands together. "I'll tell you my name if you tell me yours."

He looked at her confusedly. "You didn't read the name plaque?" Matt gestured to the sign that sat in front of his desk with his name plastered neatly on it.

"Nope." she answered honestly. "I wanted you to tell me yourself."

"Oh."

A beat.

"Well?" she questioned. "Tell me. Unless you _don't _want to know my name."

"Matthew." he blurted out. "Matthew Merrit."

"Matthew, huh?" Her eye slipped closed as she thought the name over. When they opened, her face scrunched up in disgust. "I don't like it."

His eyes widened. "W-What?!"

"I don't like it." she repeated. "It's too long."

"No, it's not." he protested wildly.

"Yes, it is." She paused. "I'll call you Matt instead."

"Matt?" he asked, testing out the name on his tongue.

"Yup. Sounds nicer that way, huh?"

"I-I guess."

"Good." She grinned. "I'll tell you my name, then."

His ears perked up at that, waiting patiently for her to continue.

"My name," she drew out. "Is Annabeth."

"Annabeth." he echoed.

She nodded once before glancing back towards the books from earlier. "Have you read all of these?"

He didn't reply immediately, a little stunned at the fact she could switch topics so easily.

But she glanced back at him, prompting him to find his voice again.

"Um, y-yea. I have, actually."

"Really?" she asked, her face brightening as she returned to browsing through the titles, occasionally pulling out one and flipping through the pages.

He didn't say anything more as he watched her. The way she moved gracefully across the shelves, her eyes focused on the words she read, soaking in all the information she could get from each page- it was all so mesmerizing.

She looked so fascinated with it all, including the books he'd found extremely boring over the years.

"Why do you like them?" he asked after another moment.

Annabeth seemed startled by his voice, but smiled nonetheless. "They've always just fascinated me." she replied, gesturing to the books behind her.

"But why?" he pressed, his curiosity getting the best of him.

She glanced down at the book in her hands. "When I was a kid, my Mother used to read me a story every night. No matter how long it was, or how tired we both were, she'd do it. She'd do it because it made me smile." She paused. "She used to say she loved to see me smile."

Matthew watched her face fall slightly.

"W-What…" His throat felt dry again, but he persisted once more. "What happened to her?"

She looked back up, meeting his eyes with another smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "She died when I was six."

"O-Oh."

"You know," she continued, closing the book in her hands and placing it back on the shelf. "I left my home because it reminded me too much of her. I couldn't shake the feeling I got every time I walked into our old house. I hated it." She sighed. "But, when I came here, I had nothing with me. I'd left everything behind. So, I started pickpocketing and stealing things people wouldn't ever notice were gone. It was easy. I got by for years like that."

"Why would you do that? You could've..." he trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Oh, I'd tried. I knew I couldn't get any type of job in the Wizarding World because my skills are less than inadequate- trust me. So, I tried taking loans and getting a job. But, Muggle life is a lot harder than it seems. I had to make payments in advance and I didn't have that type of cash. And, as a kid, my Mother didn't have the luxury of sending me to school, so I didn't know whatever other kids did.

At that point, I guess I kinda just gave up. I came to realize that the people in the real world were nothing like the people in the stories I read. They wouldn't help me. They didn't even care. So, I decided that I wasn't going to be that way. That's why I started to learn as many spells as I could and then taught them to other wizards like me."

She laughed mirthlessly. "I guess it only landed me in trouble, though, huh?" She sighed, looking towards the ceiling. "Now, I'm under house-arrest with my own personal babysitter. Man, was I stupid."

"No, you're _not_!"

Annabeth snapped her gaze down to meet his, watching as he slammed his hands onto the desk and stood up abruptly, sending his chair to the floor. His eyes were scrunched closed, his eyebrows furrowed in anger. He gritted his teeth so hard that he could feel his jaw starting to ache.

"You're not." he repeated. "No matter who tells you that, you're not. It's not wrong for you to want to be there for people and give them the chance you never got. Believe me, I understand. It's wrong that they're trying to punish you when you didn't do anything. You don't deserve that kind of shit. No one does."

He paused, trying to calm down his ragged breathing. He didn't completely understand why he was getting so worked up over something so dumb, but his mind was on overdrive.

In front of him, stood a girl who had done no wrongs to the world, but had been unjustly treated by those around her. And instead of letting it hurt her, she'd made something of herself, treating those around her just like she had wished to be treated when she was younger. And, yet, despite all that, she was being treated like some criminal.

The thought just made his blood boil.

"You know," Annabeth started slowly. "If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats inferiors, not his equals." She paused. "It was a quote from my Mother's favorite book. I never really understood it at the time," She shook her head, laughing quietly to herself. "But I think, now that I've met you, I do."

She held his gaze, her eyes brightening like they had been when they first met. And, for the first time in years, her smile finally seemed to reach her eyes.

"Thank you."


End file.
